|
Lawyers
USA
October
8, 2007
A California attorney has launched
a free networking site for lawyers: Lawlink.com.
Stephen Choi,
an Oakland, Calif.-based personal injury litigator, said
he started the website because he was disappointed by what
he saw as the limited online opportunities for lawyers to
network.
"There's only so much offline networking you can do," he
said.
There are currently several other networking
sites that cater to attorneys, including LinkedIn, which
has 90,000 attorney members, and Lawbby.com, which - like
Lawlink - is specific to lawyers. (For more information on
Lawbby.com, see "One
to watch: Lawbby.com," Lawyers USA, July 3, 2006. Search
terms for Lawyers USA Archives: Rempel and Lanza.)
But Choi
asserts his site is different because it's "not
really a social network. It focuses on the degrees of connection
between lawyers and how they can help [each other] professionally."
The
free site, which debuted in August, is exclusively for attorneys
who are licensed to practice in the United States. Interested
parties apply via the website, and Choi or one of his associates
contacts the applicant's state bar and law firm for confirmation,
which can take anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of
weeks, depending on how much information is provided on the
application.
Once an attorney is approved,
he or she creates an online profile not unlike MySpace or
Facebook. Lawyers have the option to upload photos, provide
background information (e.g., where they went to law school,
their hometown) and give a description of professional achievements,
such as cases they've litigated and publications for which
they have written.
The next step is to establish a network of colleagues. From
there, attorneys can refer clients to each other. They also
have access to job listings and classifieds. A vendor section
is available for legal recruiters to post available positions,
although they do not have access to lawyer profiles.
Small membership
Althea Kippes, of Oakland, Calif.,
a former employment lawyer and currently a consultant for
trial attorney/author J. Gary Gwilliam, signed up for Lawlink
shortly after its inception.
"It's a fabulous resource," said Kippes, who is
using the site to market Gwilliam's book, "Getting a
Winning Verdict in My Personal Life: A Trial Lawyer Finds
His Soul," to other attorneys.
"If you don't have the time to put together a website,
it's a great way to do it an environment where other people
will look to it," she said.
So far, only 1,500 lawyers
have joined, from a variety of practice areas and demographic
backgrounds.
"We thought originally it would be mostly younger [attorneys]," said
Choi. "But it's been right across the board. "
He
said that members range from solos to judges, law clerks
to district attorneys.
There are a number of new features
in the works for the site, including an option that would
allow members to open public or private groups on a variety
of topics, from specific areas of the law to attorneys who
use Macs. Choi also plans to sell advertising on the site
once it expands a bit.
This is
not Choi's first foray into legal-based online services.
Less than a decade ago, he launched Powerclient.com, which
allowed lawyers to bid on clients based on a posted description
of what kind of legal counsel was needed, but that venture
failed. |
